IT IS STRANGE that often the foremost critics of the above teachings are Christians, who take guidance from a book that provides no rights to women in relation to inheritance from their brothers, sons or fathers. Below we quote both Old Testament and New Testament teachings regarding women:
You shall also say to the Israelites, “If a man dies, and has no son, then you shall pass his inheritance on to his daughter. If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers”.162
In other words, a woman does not inherit anything from her father if she has a brother. Moreover, while the Holy Quran gives explicit teachings that a woman cannot be inherited against her will,163 and must also give her own consent to her marriage, no such, comparable or otherwise, teaching exists in the Bible. Indeed, the Bible states that a man may sell his daughter as a slave:
When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are. If she does not satisfy her owner, he must allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her.164
Furthermore, the daughter of a priest who behaves immorally is to be punished in the following inhuman fashion:
And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.165
If a man rapes a woman in the town, she is to be stoned to death along with the rapist, since it is presumed that she did not scream loudly enough to be found and therefore consented to the act:
Suppose a man meets a young woman, a virgin who is engaged to be married, and he has sexual intercourse with her. If this happens within a town, you must take both of them to the gates of that town and stone them to death. The woman is guilty because she did not scream for help. The man must die because he violated another man’s wife. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you.166
In addition to the above, women are commanded to be subservient to their husbands167 and women, according to Paul, are to be forbidden from teaching or exercising authority over men.168 The reason Paul gives is that this is because Eve led Adam into evil and so for this, women must be below men in all regards. In short, Christians are requested to look to their own book prior to levelling accusations against the Holy Quran.
As compared to the above-mentioned horrific teachings, the Islamic teachings are categorical and clear in affording women a number of rights that were unthinkable in Western society prior to the 20th Century. Women are described as having spiritual equality with men in the Holy Quran,169 the right to choose their own spouse,170 the right to divorce,171 no discrimination as regards the right to work172 and the right to maintenance, support and receiving kind treatment from husbands, as well as numerous other rights.
We have not delved deeper into these other aspects of Islamic teachings, as we have sought to focus on dispelling the misinformation present about the Quranic teachings regarding marital conflict resolution.
In short, the teachings of Islam are deeply rooted in the psychology of human behaviour. The Holy Quran gives such teachings to men that diffuses their anger, by advising a man to forego sexual relations with his wife, before proceeding further. Women, on the other hand, are taught to quickly involve third parties if there has been any ill-treatment on the part of the husband. In such teachings, the Holy Quran has struck a balance between the importance of individual rights on the one hand, and the importance of the institution of marriage on the other. While doing this, the Holy Quran has continually drawn attention to God’s attributes of Knowledge, Authority and Power, to remind men, in particular, but also women that God is aware of their behaviour and will call them to account for any injustices against one another.
Here below is the most beautiful description of the ideal relationship between a husband and a wife as given by God in the Quran:
...they are a garment for you and you are a garment for them...173
In these few words the Holy Quran has described the status of women, and the importance of marriage as an institution, and of marital relations. The real object of marriage is the comfort, protection, and the embellishment of both husband and wife – just as these are the main function of garments. Marriage is not just a device to satisfy sexual urge in human beings. The husband and wife both safeguard each other against numerous evils and scandals.
When critics read the Quran in bits and pieces without reading the context, they tend to reach faulty conclusions and this is what has happened when it comes to their understanding of the treatment of women in Islam. As proven above, there is no such thing as violence against women in Islam. Far from that, they hold the utmost respect in Islam.